Much work for next [Thai] govt

Friday December 12, 2008
EDITORIAL
Bangkok Post

The professional politicians have had something of a lark since the beginning of the month. The courts threw out three parties and more than 100 executives. Mob leaders in both yellow and red shirts stood down their groups. The opposition somehow convinced enough members of the government to defect that the balance shifted from PPP-Puea Thai to the Democrats. Political parties, academics and even the media love this sort of action. But now the country is forming a new administration, and it must face a growing pile of old and serious problems much more important and real than political loyalty.

It always is important that a new government buckle down from Day One. Most of the public is in a mood to "give them a chance". An incoming government is full of ideas and enthusiasm, full of self-assurance that the last government did not get it right, full of suggestions on how to deal with its own pet policies, as well as the obvious tasks of running the government from day to day.

This time, however, is different, because the task facing the new government is so much more urgent. The country has effectively been without government for several months. The seizure of Government House in late August shut down much of the bureaucracy. That, along with legal troubles and street protests, took up almost all the time of both the Samak Sundaravej and Somchai Wongsawat cabinets.

There are two major tasks that the incoming administration must tackle without delay. The first is the enormous damage caused to the reputation and normal work of the government. Foreign relations, in particular, were heavily damaged by the border dispute with Cambodia, the postponement of the annual Asean summit and, especially, the closure of the two Bangkok airports. Diplomatic relations are at a nadir in recent Thai history. The damage to the tourist and trade industries is in the hundreds of billions of baht and rising.

But problem number one for the next government is, simply, the economy. The country's recent performance has been lacklustre, with growth below most of our neighbours. The Samak and Somchai governments came up with scattered stimulus packages. These were uncoordinated, frequently fumbled and - in the case of the rice prices - disastrous to farmers and exporters alike. Confidence in government economic policy is at the lowest in a generation, if not more.

But that is not all. The US recession has spread around the world. There is no longer any doubt that Thailand will be hard hit. It is almost certain it will suffer a shrinking economy next year. That means high unemployment, closure of many corporations and cutbacks at almost all the survivors.

The government still has the means at its disposal to help. In particular, the long-planned but almost moribund mega-projects need to be revved up. These can be the rough equivalent of US President-elect Barack Obama's plan for more public-works projects to help to employ jobless Americans. Subways and commuter rail systems are well planned for Bangkok but lack implementation.

The new regime has another major responsibility in trying to get the economy moving. That is to guard against corruption. Major political deals done in the past week must not degenerate into under-the-table deals profitable to the politicians. The last two times the Democrats took power, they were undone by revelations of crooked deals by their top ministers. The politicians who win the battle to take power must be scrupulous about how they use it.